Hiya,
I picked up a used 16' aluminum fishing boat and trailer earlier this summer. Just a basic fishing boat (no floor) etc, but I made a project out of replacing the seat tops and wiring it to have the battery up front, bilge pump, fishfinder, lights, horn etc... basically it took longer than I thought to get the boat done, so when the time came for our long weekend (2 weeks ago), I hadn't had time to do anything to the trailer. It isn't in bad shape, the lights work, tires are new goodyear marathons. So, I picked up a spare for it, and even though I didn't have an evening to repack the bearings like I wanted to do, I decided it could wait for one trip. The previous owner had assured me that he re-packed the bearings last summer, and I popped off the dust caps and saw new grease (I checked both sides), so I knew the bearings weren't dry.
Anyway, we head out.. rig pulls nicely. At about the 40 min mark, I pull off to the side to check the trailer... Driver side hub is nice and cool, passenger side hub is warm. Not hot, but definitely warm. I figure it's not at crisis state yet, and decide to continue and re-check it a few miles down the road. I did so, and if anything it was cooler (but still warmer than the other side). So, I'm less worried about a wheel flying off now, but decide that over the weekend I'll pull that side and see what's up.
I pulled that side off at my Dad's place (our destination) and found that the previous owner had overtightened the axle nut. Not only that, but the new grease had been applied overtop of the old grease, and the inner bearing had been spared any attention at all (but still had old grease in it). Surprisingly the bearings seemed OK, so I greased it and put it back together. I couldn't do as good a job as I would've liked, because I didn't want to destroy the seal where I couldn't get a replacement. I decided to leave the driver side alone until I got home, since it was running nice and cool.
Anyway, the return trip was fine, and I tucked into it last night... both sides were the same... the inner bearing only had old grease, new grease had been applied to the outer bearing on both sides, but they hadn't really cleaned the old grease out... just slathered some new grease over top. The bearings didn't seem bad, but they were cheap so I bought new bearings and races when I picked new seals.
So there's my story... shame on me for not doing it myself before the first trip, but I got lucky and didn't have a bearing failure. It goes to show you that even though some people might have an idea that something needs to be done, and even have good intentions, they may have little idea of how to actually do it. I wonder if the other guy even knew there were inner bearings?? He sure didn't know that tapered bearings need a bit of clearance. Both sides were too tight, but the passenger side more so.
What's the saying... If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.... hmmmm seems to be truth in that. I also picked up the Reese version of bearing buddies today... We'll be doing a 1000 km round trip next week, so at least I'll know the bearings are good and properly greased!
I picked up a used 16' aluminum fishing boat and trailer earlier this summer. Just a basic fishing boat (no floor) etc, but I made a project out of replacing the seat tops and wiring it to have the battery up front, bilge pump, fishfinder, lights, horn etc... basically it took longer than I thought to get the boat done, so when the time came for our long weekend (2 weeks ago), I hadn't had time to do anything to the trailer. It isn't in bad shape, the lights work, tires are new goodyear marathons. So, I picked up a spare for it, and even though I didn't have an evening to repack the bearings like I wanted to do, I decided it could wait for one trip. The previous owner had assured me that he re-packed the bearings last summer, and I popped off the dust caps and saw new grease (I checked both sides), so I knew the bearings weren't dry.
Anyway, we head out.. rig pulls nicely. At about the 40 min mark, I pull off to the side to check the trailer... Driver side hub is nice and cool, passenger side hub is warm. Not hot, but definitely warm. I figure it's not at crisis state yet, and decide to continue and re-check it a few miles down the road. I did so, and if anything it was cooler (but still warmer than the other side). So, I'm less worried about a wheel flying off now, but decide that over the weekend I'll pull that side and see what's up.
I pulled that side off at my Dad's place (our destination) and found that the previous owner had overtightened the axle nut. Not only that, but the new grease had been applied overtop of the old grease, and the inner bearing had been spared any attention at all (but still had old grease in it). Surprisingly the bearings seemed OK, so I greased it and put it back together. I couldn't do as good a job as I would've liked, because I didn't want to destroy the seal where I couldn't get a replacement. I decided to leave the driver side alone until I got home, since it was running nice and cool.
Anyway, the return trip was fine, and I tucked into it last night... both sides were the same... the inner bearing only had old grease, new grease had been applied to the outer bearing on both sides, but they hadn't really cleaned the old grease out... just slathered some new grease over top. The bearings didn't seem bad, but they were cheap so I bought new bearings and races when I picked new seals.
So there's my story... shame on me for not doing it myself before the first trip, but I got lucky and didn't have a bearing failure. It goes to show you that even though some people might have an idea that something needs to be done, and even have good intentions, they may have little idea of how to actually do it. I wonder if the other guy even knew there were inner bearings?? He sure didn't know that tapered bearings need a bit of clearance. Both sides were too tight, but the passenger side more so.
What's the saying... If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.... hmmmm seems to be truth in that. I also picked up the Reese version of bearing buddies today... We'll be doing a 1000 km round trip next week, so at least I'll know the bearings are good and properly greased!